Pop Sweep: December 12, 2015...


I'm ready to kick off the first of this week's five "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making the charts in Billboard magazine, and as usual I'll start out with the pop side of things, then later on cover the latest in rock, R&B, country, and dance music....

On the "big" chart, Billboard's Hot 100, which combines tallies of internet streaming (like YouTube and Spotify), radio airplay from all formats, and sales (like iTunes and AmazonMP3), Adele's "Hello" reigns for a fifth straight week...

With Adele's 25 album selling over three million copies in its first tracked week on this issue of Billboard, setting a record, four of the seven new songs on the Hot 100 are from the record. The first, all the way up at #22, was the second song she performed on Saturday Night Live last week, "When We Were Young", which is my "Pop Pick of the Week"...


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Adele's "Water Under The Bridge", which she sang on The Tonight Show, enters at #70...


Another track from 25, "Send My Love (to My New Lover)", is in at #79 (there's no clip for it as yet)...

The same goes for the fourth song to debut from Adele, "Remedy", which arrives at #87..

Country singer Luke Bryan returns at #97 with "Home Alone Tonight" featuring Karen Fairchild of the group Little Big Town.  It's the third single from his Kill The Lights album; the other two, "Kick The Dust Up" and "Strip It Down", both reached the top-30 on the Hot 100...


Rapper Young Thug lands at #98 with "Best Friend". Fitting, since he's reached the top-40 here twice before as a featured artist on another's hit...


The third track from rapper Future's #1 album DS2, "Rich $ex", comes in at #100. The radio hit "Where Ya At" with Drake climbed to #28...


And now on to the pop radio format charts...

On the Mainstream Top-40 radio panel, Adele remains on top for a second week...

As former Vine star Shawn Mendes' breakthrough hit "Stitches", which topped this chart a couple of weeks ago, drops to #3, his new single "I Know What You Did Last Summer" with Camilla Cabello is the sole new entry at #35...


Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, "Hello" is also at #1 for a second week...

Modern rock duo twenty-one pilots take their #1 alternative hit "Stressed Out" to this list at #36...


Nashville-based Christian Rock band For King & Country ascend to #38 with "Fix My Eyes"...


As Nick Jonas' solo career has been going along swimmingly, brother Joe Jonas' new group DNCE shuffles in at #39 with "Cake By The Ocean"...


Canadian group Marianas Trench score their first American hit as "One Love" moves in at #40...


Lastly, on the Adult Contemporary, or "easy listening" radio chart, "Hello" is on top for a third week...

Four of the five entries are winter-style releases, starting at #22 with Matthew and Gunnar Nelson (um, or Nelson from the 90s) with Alyssa Bonagura with "This Christmas"...


James Taylor falls in at #23 with "Snowtime", from his #1 album Before This World...


A cappella kings Pentatonix enter at #24 with their take on "Joy To The World"...


The second song from neo-soul singer india.arie and jazz musician Joe Sample's collaborative holiday album, "Favorite Time Of The Year", is in at #26. The other, "Let It Snow", moves up to #20...


The sole non-winter song in the newbie list here at #29 is Gwen Stefani with her breakup song "Used To Love You"...



That's it for the start of this week's musical journey...I'll be back with the latest on rock radio...

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